


TLC (Tender Loving Care)

by itbeajen



Series: 2018 Winter Festivities [15]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Red & Green & Blue & Yellow | Pokemon Red Green Blue Yellow Versions
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Implied Relationship, Romance, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-09-19 14:18:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17003253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itbeajen/pseuds/itbeajen
Summary: Sometimes, all it takes is holding onto the memories that were given to you, and cherishing them.And maybe, and maybe finding the person that made those with you.





	TLC (Tender Loving Care)

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any characters that are mentioned. I am not making any profit from this fic and I write purely for the love of the characters. Pokemon is the property of Nintendo.

_ “Poinsettias! Surely you’ve heard of them, Lance. They’re the plants that represent Christmas!” _

 

_ “Plants?” Lance glanced over the poinsettia that was on display at a store and he shook his head, “Looks like a flower to me.” _

 

_ There’s a huff from both you and from his Dragonair that accompanied him. Your pink Dratini sat on your shoulder and trilled in disappointment at Lance’s knowledge of greeneries. You sighed and weakly smiled, “Well, they’re plants, Lance. Though I suppose since you spend nearly all your time in caves, you wouldn’t know would you.” _

 

_ “Hey, I only spend time in caves when I’m training.” _

 

_ “Uh huh, sure,” you laughed as you moved away from the potted plant. You picked up some seeds and tossed it at Lance before turning to the cashier, “Here’s the payment for the usual!” _

 

_ “Of course! I’ll take it you’re paying for our Grand Champion too, eh lass?” _

 

_ “Someone’s gotta teach him more about the world,” you chuckled in response as you waved to the cashier. All the while you gently tugged at Lance’s arm and you smiled, “Come on, you still owe me lunch.” _

 

***

 

Lance woke up with a start, startling the baby Bagon that had snuck into his arms while he was napping. Lance groggily patted it on its head and it made a happy cry of delight before gently headbutting his trainer’s stomach. The dragon master winced a bit at the impact, as gently as the young dragon type thinks it is, it’s still rather rough to handle. At least it won’t bruise.

 

He slowly gets off the couch and walks over to the windowsill where a small potted plant of poinsettia grew. He had followed your instructions to a T, and he knew that this time around, he couldn’t fail. He really wanted it to grow beautifully into the same ones he saw on display years ago with you.

 

_ Years ago… huh? _ Lance glanced out the window and mumbled, “This one should be able to develop those red hues.”

 

“Bagon?”

 

“Oh, hungry little guy? Come here,” Lance softly called out to it. The small dragon type waddled over into Lance’s open arms, content to be snuggled against its trainer and he smiled, “I’ll make sure you get fed, alright?”

 

Bagon cried out happily before purposely resting its head atop of Lance’s shoulder. Its gaze fell onto the poinsettia plant, and it opens its mouth to snap at the leaves, but Lance quickly pulls away and he softly chided, “Don’t.”  _ [Name] will kill me if I allowed you guys to even taste it. It’s not good for your stomachs after all. _

 

***

 

“[Name]? Is that.. You?”

 

“Oh, hey Claire!” you greeted her with a bright smile as you landed before her. Your previously pink Dratini was now a Dragonite, and though it wasn’t the usual shade of orange that many were familiar with, it had an olive green hue that proudly indicated its shiny status. You hopped off and asked, “How’ve you been?”

 

“How have  _ I _ been?! I should be the one asking you!” Claire burst out with relief. You sheepishly smiled and answered, “I can explain.”

 

“Oh, you have a lot to explain. And I’m sure Lance would like to hear about it too.”

 

“Hey! He encouraged me to go see the world!”

 

“We never told you to drop us!” Claire countered. You flinched and mumbled, “Well… that’s because…” your words drifted off and your Dragonite gently pats your shoulder in comfort. It was the only pokemon of yours that knew the truth - that knew how you had gotten in a fight with Lance before running back to Sinnoh. You sighed and mumbled, “I’ll… I’ll explain everything.”  _ To you… and to Lance. _

 

***

 

“[N-Name]?” Lance’s eye were wide with shock and you nervously glanced away before looking back at him. You were gone for perhaps a year or two, but nothing has changed. He was still as handsome as ever. Still the charismatic and charming man that had captivated your heart back then. You nodded and meekly smiled, “Hey, it’s been a while.”

 

“Why are you- Well, no- I mean, yes… it has been a while, but you… challenging the Elite Four? You’re a nurse-”

 

“Hey, it’s like you said, even a nurse has to learn how to defend herself,” you smiled as you tossed a pokeball up and you answered, “I’ll answer all your questions after this match, I promise.”

 

“And you won’t run away?” 

 

“No, I won’t.”

 

***

 

Lance nervously let you into his private office inside the Elite Four and mumbled, “Make yourself at home.”

 

“I see nothing has changed here,” you commented as you made yourself comfy on the window seat. It overlooked the entire mountain range and parts of Victory Road. But what caught your attention in the corner of the room on the coffee table was a brick red vase. Comfortably seated inside the vase was a poinsettia, bright red with a few white leaves. You slowly got off the window seat and made your way over to the plant. Your fingertips gently brushed over it, confirming if it was real or a fake one. 

 

“You… you bought one?”

 

“I grew it,” Lance admitted. Your eyes widened and you whispered, “You… you raised it.” 

 

Lance held his breath in anticipation for your reaction, but when he saw how brilliant your smile was, he couldn’t help but let it out in relief. You turned to him and in a breathy whisper, you mumbled, “I’m so proud of you.”

 

His eyes widened as you made your way over to him. Your gaze held his and you softly mumbled, “I’m sorry I left so suddenly.”

 

“No, I-”

 

“Please, let me finish. I was scared back then. You were - well, no, you still are a well known and highly esteemed Pokemon trainer. And me? I was just a nurse that worked at clinics in the middle of nowhere, and you happened to have stumbled across me when I was taking care of trainers at Victory Road. I felt like… I had nothing to give to you. Everything I could possibly give to you, you already had it in the palm of your hands,” you explained. You were confessing all the secrets you never told him before. All the insecurities and worries that weighed you down back then when the two of you were at your happiest. You couldn’t help but repeat them over and over, trying to explain to him just what you were feeling when you decided that you couldn’t stay with him anymore - and why you came back.

 

“So I went to find myself. I went on a journey to improve myself. I wanted to be someone that you could be proud of… Someone that could stand by your side and not have people question you,” you weakly admitted. Lance could see how your hands clenched into fists as you explained yourself, and his heart cried out for you. He wanted nothing more than to hold you in his arms, and so he did. He gently took hold of your wrist and pulled you towards him. His arms wrapped around you, and one hand gently smoothed out your hair. Your hands trembled as you returned his embrace. You held onto his cape tightly while profusely apologizing over and over again. 

 

“It’s okay, it’s okay, [Name]. There’s no need for you to apologize,” Lance softly whispered. He pulled away enough to look at you. There were unshed tears, and he could see the relief on your expression as you gently held onto him. He smiled and gently cupped your cheeks in his hands. “You gave me so much more than you think you did. You imparted your wisdom unto me. You encouraged me to see things from a different perspective, and now I can understand why your pokemon revere you with so much love and affection. You taught me to be kind and caring, not just to Pokemon, but to the world around me.”

 

Lance paused and glanced at the poinsettia and he chuckled, “And you taught me about nature. Though you may have thought yourself of less than worthy, less than acceptable - you are like the poinsettia.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Wait, let me explain,” Lance quickly added. He saw the confusion on your face, and admittedly, it was much better than seeing you near tears. You pouted at the thought of being compared to a plant, but suddenly your eyes widened and you gasped, “No, you remembered that story?”

 

“About the young child whose gift was forsaken until it bloomed into those beautiful poinsettias we now know today? I did. After you left, I held onto every bit of information you gave me about your life, your hobbies, and the small things that you enjoyed,” Lance admitted with a sigh. His arms rested around your waist now and he softly mumbled, “How could I ever forget about you?”

 

“I- I don’t know, I just…”

 

“I even remembered all the little details about growing one, you know.” Lance teased as he rested his forehead against yours. He felt the tension leave you as you leaned against him. His eyes were closed as he softly asked, “Will you be staying here for the holidays?”

 

“Where is ‘here’?” you playfully asked. You know that he knows what you’re talking about. And you know that with this, everything is cleared between the two of you. Yet you were longing to hear it in words, you were yearning for him to ask you to stay by his side again. He opened his eyes, and you felt yourself caught in his gaze. There was so much love and affection in them, you couldn’t bear to look away.

 

“Will you stay here with me again?”

 

“Just for the holidays?” you teased. But he knew that it was a jest. After all, with the way your arms were now wrapped around his neck and you were leaning in for a kiss, even he knew that this Christmas - and many more afterwards - would be filled with your warmth and laughter yet again.


End file.
